Use your phone to explore the world around you and uncover a hidden reality: Augmented Reality for portuguese mobile operator TMN.

NearInteraction has developed an augmented reality experience connecting smartphones with TMN branded “Fenómeno” advertising panels and outdoors in several cities all over Portugal.
Passersby simply point their smartphones at the image displayed, and the sky literally becomes the limit to their imagination.

watch the video here.

NearInteraction was part of the 49th International Paris Air Show 2011 held at the Le Bourget Airport at the end of June, with a series of interactive installations revealing the services offered by TAP Maintenance and Engineering (TAP M&E). NearInteraction was responsible for an eye-catching gesture based interactive wall, comprised of 4 large scale high-res screens where visitors were able to manipulate the inner workings of an aeroplane by using their arms, and an all inclusive iPad app of TAP M&E facts and figures which connected in real-time to the interactive wall, displaying any content that was being browsed at that moment.
At an event that brings together more than 2100 exhibitors from 45 countries, it is an important consideration to stand out from the crowd, a consideration achieved by NearInteraction with an interactive LED installation embedded into the booth’s specially designed awnings, featuring RGB light that was able to respond to both presence and movement with beautiful dynamical transitions of color as attendees passed by.

Watch the video

If you are passing by the Lisbon Colombo Fnac concept store, check out NearInteraction’s ode to love on the way in, displayed in a giant 50″ inch screen. For the interactive piece, NearInteraction moved beyond gestural 2D into 3D, using the recently released Kinect infrared camera. Not only does this innovation allow tracking of more than one hand as well as depth of field producing a more sensorial environment for the user, it also has simultaneous multi-user use. The installation was navigated gesturally using both hands, creating a simple yet eye-catching Valentines promotion that many couples stopped to interact with before moving into the store.

“… I honestly think that the ideas we came up with could not have been produced by a conventional method. I think that the process led to some real originality – reaching bits of the mind that other methods cannot reach. Fascinating stuff as I suspected – but having experienced it I am now sold!”

“The storytelling approach to exploring solutions was great. Your model pushed us to get into the detail of our characters and places and really brought out the creative side of our group.  The depth of the characterisation helped us understand the situation.  The creative thinking around the narrative opened us up to more creative solutions for the App/product.  The storytelling enabled people from different professional backgrounds to develop a shared language, moving beyond our professional boundaries and exclusive language. Consider yourselves to have designed a really successful model.  I’m certainly going to use it again to explore a few projects I’m working on.”

A one-day workshop in London exploring the possibilities of merging interactive technology with community-led projects using NearInteraction’s NearLab’s unique collection of tools, probes and thought-provokers to inform and facilitate the innovation process. In the form of sets of cards, flash sets and scenario sheets, these are designed to operate on principles that encourage creativity and collective ownership, allowing the users the ability to be intuitive, recognise patterns, and explore the full potential.

The series of 3 workshops utilise the combined intelligence of the participating group, and facilitated with “learning together by doing” practices, including facilitated brainstorms, curated problem solving exercises, experience-based-learning, case methods and physical prototyping sessions, resulting in the generation of valuable, tangible outcomes.

Urban Apps: when meaningful ideas connect communities with interactive technology Workshop details here

The work presented at TEI addressed HCI issues, design, interactive art, user experience, tools and technologies, with a strong focus on how computing can finally bridge atoms and bits into cohesive interactive systems.

This conference was best known as a unique forum for exchanging ideas and presenting innovative work through talks, interactive exhibits, demos, hands-on studios, posters, art installations and performances.

Director of NearInteraction, Diogo Terroso, participated in the 10th edition of cTIC2010 (Conferência de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação), held in Aula Magna of Instituto Politécnico de Viseu. The conference focused on HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) concepts and revelant applications and their impact in today’s society.

From the development of interaction and its impact on society, to a discussion of interaction design across multiple platforms, to the analysis of multi-sensorial interaction, in which the exploration of the senses is paramount to achieve richer interaction.

This September saw NearInteraction showcasing several technological pieces on behalf of the Ministry of Culture of Portugal at the technology fair “Portugal Tecnológico 2010″, the nation’s largest technology and innovation show, held at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa (FIL) exhibition centre.

Welcoming in the new wave…

Using a gesturally guided installation to showcase MatrizPix, an information system responsible for the management of images and archives of the Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação, was NearInteraction’s first choice to relay a physical exploring experience to the viewer whilst browsing the archive of digitalised files.

Posting the freedom of artistic creation…

Highlighting the works produced by the arts residencies represented by DGARTES, (a Direcção-Geral das Artes) NearInteraction’s object recognition installation reveals documentary style videos activated by postcards held up to the monitor.

Keeping touch with history…

NearInteraction created a multi-layered multi-touch table visually showcasing the processes that are represented by DGARQ, (a Direcção Geral de Arquivos) the coordinating body of the national archives which overlooks in all forms and mediums of archiving throughout the country. Focused on areas such as network and file systems, the safeguarding of assets, classifications, preservation of documents and the dissemination of information, this particular multi-touch table focused on the Torre de Tombo site.

By making use of interactive technology to relay a virtual experience to all the various aspects represented by the Ministry of Culture, NearInteraction’s portfolio of works exhibited at FIL, were accessible to both professionals and the public at large, allowing the Ministry of Culture to play a memorable part.

A development partner at POVO – PEOPLE exhibition at the Museu da Electricidade in Lisbon, NearInteraction was responsible for a range of interactive installations including a photo booth that captured and projected a series of still images to a mosaic on a wall at the front entrance, a gesturally activated table where users could browse historical identity documents using simple hand movements and a set of sensor embedded chairs allowing a selection of six audio themes related to people in Western music to be played and listened to. The exhibition offers a fresh sociological and political perspective on the origin and evolution of the concept of people using a variety of novel visual thinking and aesthetics and will be displayed from 19 June to 19 September 2010.

Watch the video of the exhibition.